Matthew B. Myers to lead SMU Cox School of Business

New dean is an expert on global trends, especially in Spanish-language markets

April 6, 2017

DALLAS (SMU) – Matthew B. Myers, a global marketing and strategy expert with special expertise in cross-border business relationships and Latin American economies, has been named dean of SMU’s Cox School of Business. He will assume his new duties on August 1, at which point Albert W. Niemi Jr., who has been dean of the school since 1997, will transition to full-time teaching.

Matthew B. Myers

“As the new dean of the Cox School of Business, Matt Myers brings extraordinary energy for outreach to the regional, national, and global business community,” said Steven C. Currall, SMU provost and vice president for academic affairs. “The range of his previous administrative and professorial experiences also equips him to lead the school toward even greater faculty research excellence, as well as innovative educational programs for Cox undergraduates, graduate students and working executives. Furthermore, Matt is deeply committed to collaborations with other academic units on the SMU campus to advance interdisciplinary academic programs and initiatives.”

“The Cox School of Business and its international academic reputation will be in good hands with Matt Myers,” said SMU President R. Gerald Turner. “His expertise in global trends, particularly in cross-border and Spanish-language markets, will be invaluable to our faculty and students – especially as programs such as the Cox School’s Latino Leadership Initiative and the Mission Foods Texas-Mexico Center in Dedman College continue to evolve. In addition, his vision and leadership as a fundraiser will help secure the ongoing health of these centers of excellence, as well as the promise of innovations to come.”

As dean and Mitchell P. Rales Chair of Business Leadership of the Farmer School of Business at Miami University of Ohio, Myers manages an $80 million budget and recently launched the first independent fund-raising campaign for a college at Miami University. The $200 million effort includes a $40 million lead gift, the largest philanthropic gift in Miami history. The Farmer School of Business is a top-10 producer of Fortune 500 CEOs and maintains undergraduate, graduate and executive programs with a student body of approximately 4,300 and more than 250 faculty and staff members.

"I am extremely excited about becoming the next dean of the Cox School of Business at SMU,” Myers said. “I wish to thank President Turner, Provost Currall, and the SMU community for this opportunity, and I look forward to joining a wonderful group of faculty, staff, and students. The Cox School’s dedication to quality programs and research excellence, in addition to its supportive and engaged network of alumni and business partners, make the school an exhilarating place to be for anyone passionate about business education.”

“Matthew Myers is a terrific choice to lead the Cox School of Business into the future,” said longtime Cox School Dean Albert W. Niemi Jr. “Matt is an accomplished teacher and researcher, and he has a keen understanding of the global economy. He will be a wonderful addition to SMU’s leadership team, and Maria and I look forward to welcoming Matt and his family to Dallas and the Cox community.”

Myers has written extensively on knowledge sharing in cross-border business relationships, international pricing strategies, and comparative marketing systems. His research has been published in leading journals including the Strategic Management Journal, the Journal of Marketing, the Journal of Operations Management, the Journal of International Business Studies, and Sloan Management Review. He also served as co-editor of the Handbook of Global Supply Chain Management (2006, SAGE Publications). His current work focuses on the effects of foreign direct investment in supply-chain functions on developing-economy performance and wealth distribution.

As an educator and consultant, Myers has traveled extensively and worked with organizations in the global distribution, chemical, insurance, education, pharmaceutical, and marketing research industries. He has served as a visiting faculty member at ESSEC Business School-Paris and the University of St. Andrews, Scotland. He also has taught at the Vienna University of Economics and Business as well as in Italy, Romania, Taiwan and Uzbekistan. In addition, he has led executive education courses in China, Vietnam, India, Argentina, Chile, Brazil, Hungary and Poland.

Prior to his tenure at Miami, Myers served as the Nestlé Professor and associate dean of executive education in the Haslam College of Business at the University of Tennessee, where he oversaw a grant from the U.S. Air Force as well as cooperative educational relationships with Oak Ridge National Laboratories. He was recognized three times as the Outstanding Faculty Member for M.B.A. programs and received the University of Tennessee’s Chancellor’s Award for Globalization Initiatives.

A military veteran, Myers served in the U.S. Army Airborne at Ft. Kobbe, Canal Zone, Republic of Panama and at Hunter Army Airfield, Georgia, from 1979 to 1982. He is a member of the Society of Fellows of the Aspen Institute, a nonpartisan organization dedicated to educational and policy issues.

Myers earned his Ph.D. degree in marketing and international business from Michigan State University in 1997. He received his Master of International Business Studies with a focus on Spanish-language and Latin American economies from the University of South Carolina in 1992. He graduated with a B.A. from the University of Louisville’s College of Natural Sciences in 1986.

Provost Currall expressed thanks to Albert W. Niemi Jr. for his 20 years of service as dean of the Cox School. Dean Niemi, who currently holds the Cox School’s Tolleson Chair in Business Leadership, plans to return to full-time teaching during the 2017-18 academic year as the William J. O’Neil Chair in Global Markets and Freedom.

As dean of SMU’s Cox School of Business, Myers will administer a nationally and internationally ranked business school with undergraduate majors in accounting, finance, financial consulting, general business, management, marketing, real estate finance and concentrations in energy management, entrepreneurship, real estate finance, and risk management and insurance.

The Cox School’s Master of Business Administration programs include full-time, part-time and Fast Track M.B.A.s with concentrations in accounting, finance, general business, information technology and operations management, management, marketing, real estate, and strategy and entrepreneurship, as well as Executive M.B.A.s in general business. The Cox School also offers Master of Science (M.S.) degrees in accounting, business analytics (full and part-time), finance, and management. In joint programs with other schools on campus, Cox offers the J.D./M.B.A. with Dedman School of Law; the M.S. in Arts Management/M.B.A. with Meadows School of the Arts; the M.S. in Sport Management and the M.S. in Health Promotion Management with Simmons School of Education and Human Development; the M.S. in Engineering/M.B.A. and the M.S. in Engineering Entrepreneurship with the Lyle School of Engineering.

The Cox School also provides a number of unique resources for students — including its Brierley Institute for Customer Engagement, Business Leadership Center, Caruth Institute for Entrepreneurship, Folsom Institute for Real Estate, Latino Leadership Initiative, Maguire Energy Institute, Southwest Graduate School of Banking, Global Leadership Program, and Albert W. Niemi Center for Economic Growth and Leadership Development. In addition, it maintains an international alumni network with chapters in more than 20 countries. The School has forged strong relationships with leading companies and influential business leaders in the North Texas area and has been recognized in The Economist as one of the top schools worldwide for networking potential.